Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the United States. Moreover, atherosclerosis is the leading cause of cardiovascular diseases. Atherosclerosis is a disease of the arteries and is responsible for coronary heart disease associated with many deaths in industrialized countries. Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory condition resulting from multiple and cumulative risk factors, each of which contributes in varying ways to the development and severity of the condition. The risk of atherosclerosis and heart attacks is strongly correlated to blood cholesterol levels, where low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (LDL-C) is pro-inflammatory and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (HDL-C) is anti-inflammatory. Several risk factors for coronary heart disease have now been identified: dyslipidemia, hypertension, diabetes, smoking, poor diet, inactivity and stress. Dyslipidemia is elevation of plasma cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia) and/or triglycerides (TGs) or a low HDL level that contributes to the development of atherosclerosis. Dyslipidemia is a metabolic disorder that is proven to contribute to cardiovascular disease. In the blood, cholesterol is transported in lipoprotein particles, where the LDL-C is considered “bad” cholesterol, while HDL-C is known as “good” cholesterol. Lipid and lipoprotein abnormalities are extremely common in the general population and are regarded as a highly modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease, due to the influence of cholesterol on atherosclerosis.
There is a long-felt and significant unmet need for CVD treatments with 60-70% of cardiovascular events, heart attacks and strokes occurring despite the treatment with statins (the current standard of care in atherosclerosis).